


Worth

by kinkshamingismykink



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Adjusting, Bonding, Cooking, Friendship, New Job, Other, new city, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 00:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12157635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinkshamingismykink/pseuds/kinkshamingismykink
Summary: You're new to Austin, and have been subsisting off of fast food since you moved there to start your dream job. When Geoff learns that you don't know how to cook, he steps up to the plate to teach you.





	Worth

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr user pixiesinspace said: Hey dude only just found your blog! But I saw the post about sleeping and I'm super sorry and I hope it get's easier for you(waking up with panic attacks is the worst). As for prompts I can think of a couple but how about some happy platonic chill times with punk dad Geoff(because I really want Geoff to be my dad and my buddy)? Idk like him helping teach you how to cook because you dunno how or helping you get settled after moving to Austin and just generally being his weird dad self
> 
> \--
> 
> Okay so two things here: One, this is so sweet, and I thank you for it. Anxiety sucks and I hope you're doing well. Secondly, this prompt was very chill and lovely to write. Thank you. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it's what you were looking for!

Austin was huge, and humid, and hectic. It took either ten minutes or fifty to get to work, depending on the traffic. You kept telling yourself to walk - it’d be more reliable - but you knew you weren’t going to. The heat alone made you want to cry some days. Walking through it, even early in the day, was not something you wanted to add to your schedule. Thus, you’d plod into the Achievement Hunter office each morning, either fifteen minutes late or thirty-five minutes early. There was never any midground. Geoff kept telling you that it was fine, that no one gave a shit, but _you_ did. Settling into a new city was hard enough. Settling into a new job while settling into a new city was proving to be a sincere challenge. You had gotten fast food or takeout from the places near your apartment for the past week; it was easier to focus on unpacking if you didn’t have to worry about cooking, too. The guys had been fantastic with suggesting places to go once you were a bit more settled, but for now, McDonald’s had been your go-to. You lamented this fact as you sipped your lukewarm coffee, Michael and Jeremy intoning that they had felt much the same way when they had relocated.

“How long are you gonna put off cooking for?” Ryan asked, plopping down in his chair, looking at you. “If you already got groceries, then why not cook?”

“I’m not that great at it,” you admitted with a shrug. Every meal you had ever tried to cook had ended up either horribly burnt or woefully under cooked, without exception. “I didn’t even cook that much before I moved.”

“You don’t cook?” Geoff asked, chin in his hand as he leaned on his desk.

“Not often.”

“What did you eat before you came here?”

“Well, my boyfriend at the time was the cooker. Not - uh… not me.”

It was quiet for a minute. They knew the story well enough; you had moved to Austin for this job, your dream job. You left behind family, friends, and a long term boyfriend to be here. You didn’t regret it, not even for a second. You had wanted to at least try, but he had insisted that long distance would never work, so you had broken it off a few days before you left. It was Michael who broke the silence, snickering.

“Nice one, Geoff,” he said loudly, and Geoff threw his arms in the air.

“How was I supposed to know?!” he asked, looking between Michael and you.

“It’s fine,” you said earnestly, shooting Michael a look. He ignored you.

“Yeah, Geoff, it’s _fine,”_ he mocked. “Because everyone always means it when they say they’re fine.”

“Fuck off!”

They bickered on like that for a few minutes, before Jack told them to shut up so they could record. You hit a good stride once you got started, keeping the conversation sharp but playful. Everything went well - no technical difficulties, nothing like that. Once you had all finished up, you stood to stretch, wanting more coffee anyways. You made for the door, calling over your shoulder, asking if anyone else wanted any. You were met by a chorus of voices; you were almost sure it had been everyone, aside from Ryan. You turned back to look at them, asking for raised hands this time. You were right. Monday mornings would do that, you thought, nodding to yourself. Geoff pushed back from his desk, waving down the hall.

“I’ll drive,” he said, standing, “There’s an awesome bakery I wanna show you. I took Gavin to it all the time when he first got here.”

“Sounds rad,” you replied, smiling at him. He just scoffed at your word choice and walked by you, motioning for you to follow.

* * *

 Geoff had definitely been right; Lucky’s was the best damn bakery you had ever been to. He had insisted that you got breakfast, too, knowing that you never ate in the morning. You had happily munched on your donut while waiting for the coffees Geoff had paid for, Geoff grinning at you as you smiled through the crumbs. When you had climbed back into his car, two paper trays of hot coffee balanced on your lap, he had laughed at the nervous look on your face. You fixed him with a pout as you buckled your seatbelt, but he just kept laughing. You giggled as he started the car, making your way through the city, back towards the office. After a few minutes of channel flipping and coffee re-balancing, he spoke again.

“Y’know, I cook a lot. I could teach you if you want,” he said, one hand on the steering wheel, the other out his window.

“Taking pity on me?”

“Nah. Not yet, anyways. Maybe if you keep eating McDonald’s everyday, though.”

“That’s fair. I mean,” you thought for a second, “My apartment is a fuckin’ mess. I’m not done unpacking.”

“I don’t give a shit. We’re just cooking.”

“Okay,” you decided, looking at him, “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You could hate it.”

You laughed, coffee bouncing precariously as you hit a bump.

* * *

Geoff was pounding on your door a good eight minutes before you were expecting him. “C’mon, I have bags and shit!” he called as you scrambled for the door, swinging it open wide and stepping aside. He took a moment to look around your kitchen, peeking into your living room before starting to pull things out of the bags he had brought in. “This is a pretty nice place for your first apartment in Austin. Most of the new kids live in shitholes.”

“Gee, thanks,” you scoffed, emptying the bag Geoff’s hands were not currently in. Chicken stock, brown rice, soy sauce. “What’re we making?”

“Figured we’d start easy and make a stir-fry.”

“Sounds yummy.”

“Good. Where’s your salt?”

“Here,” you aid, pulling it from a low cabinet and handing it to him.

“Thanks.” He laid all the ingredients out across the island, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect as he looked over at you. “Okay, so, let’s get the rice started first. Pan?”

“Pan,” you replied, pulling one out from the lazy susan in the corner. “And measuring cups?”

“Yeah. See, you’re not hopeless!”

“I never said I was!”

“Uh, yeah. Right.” He grinned, mostly to himself, as he took the measuring cups from you. “So half a cup of brown rice. You do that. Then that chicken stock and some salt. Then we can leave it while we cut veggies.”

“Okay,” you said, already pouring rice into a cup, “But if I lose a finger, I’m blaming you.” You poured the rice into the pan while he poured in the chicken stock and salt. “Lid?” you asked, rummaging through the cabinets again. He nodded.

“That’ll cook for about 45 minutes. So let’s get chopping.”

“I… don’t know how to cut most of this stuff.”

“That’s fine. We’ll start with the peppers. Here,” he said, pushing a green bell your way while he took the red. “Like this first,” he went on, slicing off the top and bottom. You did as he had done. “Then cut a line down one side, but not all the way through.” He stood the pepper up and sliced down, and you followed. “Okay, nice, now lay it flat and cut out all the seeds and shit. Carefully.” You watched his hands as he removed the membranes of the pepper, trying to mimic his movements. He watched as you finished. It wasn’t as neat as his, but it was done. He smiled at you, putting his hand in the air. “Good job,” he said genuinely, and you high fived him. “Okay, peppers can be cut up in strips and then in little bits. And then we have the onions, carrots, and broccoli too. I’ll do the garlic, but you should watch.”

All in all, it was slow work, but you did watch intently as he showed you how to prepare the vegetables. Once forty-five minutes had passed, he pulled the lid off of the pan of rice, dumping it into the pan that held the vegetables and stirring. You added a bit more chicken stock at his insistence as he dropped in the minced garlic, pushing the ingredients around as they browned and bubbled. The apartment smelled like heaven, making your stomach grumble loudly. Geoff laughed with you as you pulled two plates from the cabinet, placing them down on the other side of the island with silverware and cups. He made you stir the meal for a few minutes before he turned the heat off with a cheer, settling the pan on a cool burner. You high fived again before you dug around for a serving spoon, finally finding one still in a box in the corner of the living room. You scooped some of the stir-fry onto your plate and joined Geoff at the island, who had already served himself. You watched as he took a bite and said nothing, motioning for you to follow suit. You did, grinning as you chewed.

“This is pretty good,” you said after swallowing, nudging him playfully. He smiled.

“Yeah it is. We did a good job.”

The rest of the meal was spent discussing work, laughing about stupid things that had happened and the shelf Ryan had broken earlier that day after he had launched a throwing axe at it. Geoff giggled about how the building manager had called about the hole in the office wall again, wanting to send in a guy to look at it. Trevor had been mortified, knowing that they’d have to clean and hide their ever-growing hoard of weaponry before anyone outside the company could step foot inside the room. Before you knew it, the stir-fry was gone, and you were full to bursting. Geoff leaned against the pleather backing of the stool, rubbing his stomach, seemingly in the same boat as you. You looked at him, rolling your lower lip between your teeth as you considered what to say next.

“Geoff, thank you for doing this,” you decided on after a beat.

“Well, eating McDonald’s everyday is only fun for so long,” he answered, grinning at you from his spot in the chair. You half-smiled back at him.

“I mean it, though. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know. I had fun, though. It’s cool to see what people you work with are like outside of work.”

“Am I that different?”

“No. But it was cool anyways.”

You smiled at him, unsure of why there was a lump forming in your throat. Maybe it was because he had done this for you. Maybe it was because you knew he was being genuine. Maybe it was because he was just an awesome person; someone you were glad to work with, someone you hoped to call a friend for many years to come. He smiled back at you, pretending not to notice the tears you blinked away as you took a drink from your glass. He stood, stretching.

“We should do this once a week,” he declared, running a hand down his face, “But here’s the deal: you’re doing the dishes.”

“Done,” you said, stretching out your hand to him. He took it firmly, shaking it, sealing the deal. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, kid,” he said, pulling you into a hug you had only half expected. You beamed as the door closed behind him, continued beaming as you scrubbed the pots and pans and dishes and silverware you had used.

This whole thing had been worth it, after all.


End file.
